ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — The Escondido community is stepping up to help a dog that was neglected and then abandoned.
"It killed me to see that she was literally left there to die," said Nicole Shaffer.
Shaffer found the dog named Lucky on Christmas morning at the Carmel Mountain Ranch Recreation Center with a plastic bag tied around her neck and one of her paws. Shaffer said she could tell Lucky was malnourished and injured.
"I had to use my keys to get this [plastic bag] off of this dog's neck. She was not able to use her hind legs," she said.
Shaffer took Lucky to the San Diego Humane Society in Escondido, where they gave her pain medication and antibiotics.
She also posted about finding the dog on the Nextdoor app. That's where Jason Graham said he learned about Lucky.
"Just abandoning an animal to me is abuse, especially in the manner that she was left there," Graham said.
So Graham decided to foster Lucky. Thursday, he met Shaffer at San Diego Humane Society Escondido's campus to pick up the dog.
"I miss having a dog around the house... love animals, and I hate to see and hear about any animal that's been abused in any way," said Graham.
"I'm ecstatic because it's really been a battle," said Shaffer.
SDHS said Lucky has several health issues, including a spinal disease. She also has difficulty walking and getting up.
Still, Graham said he's glad to take Lucky in and help nurse her back to health.
"She's going to need help walking so that was pretty disturbing to hear and kind of cuts me in the heart a bit, so I want to help out," said Graham.
SDHS Escondido has opened an investigation into who abandoned Lucky. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 619-299-7012 and Press 1.
